Trick or Treat
by i'mnotcrazy82
Summary: Written with Muna16 and Haddicted.  It's Halloween at PPTH, and the House is having a tough time bonding with Rachel.  What happens when he has to take her trick or treating at the hospital?  Fun and games and tricks and treats loom on the horizon! Huddy!
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N-_**

**_Hi all._**

**_This is a short, Halloween themed Huddy fic written by Haddicted, Muna16, and myself, i'mnotcrazy82. We all collaborated on this, and with their permission, I'm going to post it all here. At the beginning of each chapter, I'll let you know which one of us wrote it!_**

**_Thanks to them for collaborating with me on this, and thanks to you for reading!_**

**_Enjoy!_**

**_By the by, this was written before Unplanned Parenthood even aired. This is set in season seven. House and Cuddy are still feeling each other out in their relationship, and House is having problems with Rachel._**

**_As always, DS and Co. own House, but I thank them for sharing his toys!  
_**

_**Trick or Treat**_

_**Chapter One -**(Written by I'mnotcrazy82)  
_

Gregory House stepped out into the late October air, pausing a moment to take a deep breath. There was a clean, crisp chill in the air, and the late afternoon sunlight bathed the front of the hospital in a butter yellow light. The oak and maple trees that dotted the campus were turning bright shades of gold and red.

And he hated it all.

He hated the inevitable change of seasons that hallmarked the beginning of the holiday season. From now until New Years, the weeks were dotted with days set aside for family and gatherings. The air would become colder and colder, setting off the already deep ache in his thigh with screaming pain on cold mornings. He hated the stiffness that would come with frosty mornings, and the snow and ice that made his already unstable balance and stride even more treacherous.

He sighed, grimacing at the faint mist of breath that hung in the air. If he ever met her, Mother Nature was going to get a cane shoved up her ass for this abomination known as fall and winter. He ground his teeth together, his right hand gripping the round handle of his new cane tightly while his left pulled the leather coat even more tightly around him. It was almost getting too cold to ride his bike; the wind bit through the thick leather, even when he layered, and his fingers would be stiff when he pried them off the handlebars.

He made his way his bright orange and white bike, having parked it arrogantly in the handicapped parking place right in front of the hospital. He had been late that morning, and his usual spot in the garage was already taken by another doctor's cherry red jag, which had a lovey scuff now done one side, thanks the rubber cap at the end of his cane. His mouth quirked up into a small smirk; the security camera wouldn't show anything for those few minutes, thanks to a small bribe to a few underpaid security guards. At least it had been a nice day out, and it hadn't rained on the leather seats of his precious bike.

He straddled the tank, shifting a little on the leather to become more comfortable. He was tugging on his leather gloves when a soft beep chirped from his pocket. He frowned, standing up so he could fish his cell phone out of his pocket. He smiled at the number on the front, then he flipped it open. "House."

"_Do you think you can go to my place early and relieve the sitter_?" Cuddy was crisp and to the point.

"_Another_ late meeting?" he groused, rubbing at his forehead. "I should charge by the hour for this."

"_You'll receive fair payment,"_ Cuddy teased. "_The fundraising committee chair just walked out. I have to step in, just for tonight,"_ she clarified.

"What if I have plans?" he whined. "The world doesn't revolve around your ginormous ass, you know. Though I do have a theory about it's gravitational pull..."

"_That's only because your hand seems to be glued to it._" He could hear the smirk in her voice, and he found himself smiling in response. "_And I know you don't have plans. Wilson's going to a play with Sam tonight, and he only has two tickets, and your team is here, breaking in the new girl. I swear to god, House, if she quits because of your department's hazing..."_

"It's _not_ hazing," he answered quickly. He held the phone to his ear with his shoulder. "It's just a sort of getting to know you tradition. I'm being gentle with her; I made Foreman break into a home in his first week, and I had the last batch of new recruits wash my car and dig up a body..."

"_And you only have one of those team members left,"_ she responded dryly.

"Touché."

"_It'll only be for a few hours. I know you don't want to..."_

"No, no," he sighed. "I'll do it. But you owe me."

"_What? Less clinic hours? Tighter skirts for the female staff? French maid outfits for the housekeeping personnel?"_ Her tone was weary, and he read between the lines.

"No, we'll discuss my fee when you get home." _When you're naked in bed with me_. The last part remained unsaid, but she knew he was thinking it.

"_Fine. I'll see you then."_

"'Bye." He snapped the phone shut, and he pressed it against his forehead, hoping that doing so would get rid of his burgeoning headache. After a moment, he sighed, putting the phone away and strapping on his helmet. Better to get this done and over with...

[H] [H] [H]

"Doctor House?" Marina opened the door, wide eyed. "Where is Doctor Cuddy?"

He sighed, seeing the blatant disappointment on the nanny's face. She had made her opinion of him obvious, finding him much less charming than his former good friend. "Working late, again," he growled, a scowl set on his features. "I've been pulled from the bench for the save."

She rolled her eyes. "Rachel's not been feeling well today." At his creased brow, she continued, "she's been getting over a cold."

"Good thing I spend all those hours in the hospital's clinic in a week. I've become an expert in colds. Gonna get my Nobel prize any day now for my hands on research of it." He stepped into the house, limping heavily. He rubbed his forehead, looking around. "It means you can go; I know Cuddy pays you before she leaves for work."

She sniffed, then gathered her things. He watched as she gave Rachel a kiss goodbye. The little girl looked up at Marina with large, adoring brown eyes, and she giggled as the woman knelt down and brushed her cheek with her lips. "Be a good girl for Doctor House," she told the girl with a strained smile. "Your mama will be home in a little bit, okay?" House snorted at the gushing comments, drawing a dirty look from both Marina and Rachel.

"'Kay!" the not quite two year old smiled widely at the nanny.

"Okay," he grunted. "You've said your goodbyes, now, leave."

She gave Rachel one more quick hug, then stood up. "Good night, doctor House," she told him crisply, before getting into her Focus.

House exhaled, running his fingers through his hair. "Looks like its you and me kid." _Again._"

"Mama." The little girl frowned at him, thrusting her plump lower lip out. "Mama!" she said, louder.

"Your mama's at work, kid. You're stuck with me for the next few hours." He limped over to the couch, and he turned the tv on. He settled down on the soft cushions, only to have a block come flying in his direction.

"MAMA!" she screamed, her lower lip quivering.

House clenched his teeth. "You're mama's not here." He watched as Rachel balled her small hands into fists, then she started pounding the carpet, bursting into full-blown tantrum. "MAMA!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, which caused him to cringe. "Jesus, kid," he winced as he rose from the couch, limping over to her. He awkwardly knelt down, his thigh screaming in protest. He tried to pick her up, but she smacked his hands away from her, tears streaming down her round, red face. "MAMA NOW!" she shrieked. "YOU BAD! WANT MAMA."

He managed to get his arms around her, and he hefted her in the air, trying to ignore her pounding fists as she threw her tantrum. "Easy, easy kid," he mumbled awkwardly, closing his eyes. He carried her around the living room, trying to make soothing noises. Eventually, she calmed down, red-faced and hiccuping with the effort. _Damn, Cuddy_, he thought, bitterly. _You owe me big time for this._

_[H] [H] [H]_

It was late when Cuddy finally was able to get home. Her dark hair had fallen from the clip that held it back, and eyes were rimmed by dark circles. She hated late nights like these anymore, not when she had a family waiting on her to get home. And there was House waiting for her, too.

The thought of being greeted by a kiss from House and a glass of red wine flew out the window, though, when she stepped inside her House. Her ears rang with Rachel's cries, and she dropped her briefcase down in the foyer. She ran into the kitchen as she heard House swear. "Dammit, kid. It's just spaghetti. Don't you...damn it to hell."

She stepped into the kitchen to find Rachel screaming at the top of her lungs, while House was wiping red sauce off of his face with one of her kitchen towels. "Hey, baby," she soothed. "Mama!" the girl's face brighented. She raised her arms up, and Cuddy picked her up out of the chair. "Shh," she cooed. "It's okay."

"Yeah," House snorted. "Comfort _her,_" he growled. "She's not the one who had spaghetti sauce thrown in her eyes."

"Shut up, House," Cuddy muttered, her words hard. "She's two, you're fifty."

"Fifty-_one,_" he corrected her.

Rachel buried her face into her mother's shoulder. "Bad House," she muttered into the soft jacket. Cuddy forced out a weary chuckle before taking her out of the kitchen, but not before shooting House a _we'll talk about this later_ look over her shoulder, leaving him to slump down in a kitchen chair.

He hadn't signed up for this.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N - Thanks for reading guys! Since this one's completely finished, I'll be posting it very quickly!_**

**_This is a collaboration, written by myself (i'mnotcrazy82), Muna16, and Haddicted._**

**_Neither of us own House, though we all wish we did!  
_**

Chapter 2 - _(Written by Muna16)_

By the time Cuddy made it out of Rachel's room, with her daughter properly bathed and read to and tucked in, another hour and change had passed. As she closed the door softly, and headed out into the hall, she wondered if House had waited for her or if he had run away like a coward.

This had been the third time she had asked House to watch Rachel for her. She had asked him once at the hospital, the day she had to bring her in because was suffering from a nasty bout of the stomach flu. She remembered walking into her office after her budget meeting and finding Rachel screaming at the top of her lungs, uncapped marker in hand, yelling "gimme, gimme" to House, who was preventing her from reaching the Gameboy he was playing with. Her office, of course, had looked as if a tornado had spun through it.

A couple of weeks ago she had to work late to prepare for a Board meeting and she had asked him as she had tonight, to relieve Marina and stay with Rachel until she got home. She opened the door that night to find House asleep on her couch, looking completely beaten down, and to hear the muffled wails of her daughter, emanating from the playpen in the other end of the house, behind two closed doors. He had done the best he could, he assured her, but she wouldn't stop crying, and he had really needed a break.

And here it was - his third time at bat. A third strike.

She walked down the hall, still in her work clothes, though she had lost her shoes and jacket along the way, and made it to her room. She found the bed made and no sign of House. The bathroom light was off, she noted, so he wasn't soaking in her tub. She headed back out towards the living room, and found him, predictably disheveled, half lying on her couch, with his left leg stretched out on the sofa and the right leg bent over with his foot firmly planted on the floor. His hand was resting on his right thigh. She could tell by his position and by the grimace on his butchered, sleeping face that he was in real pain.

She took a deep breath and peeked past the dining room and to the kitchen. The bstard hadn't cleaned any of the mess up. She looked back at House and cursed herself for believing he could have handled Rachel for her tonight. She picked up his left leg gently, and threw herself down on the couch under it, startling him out of his makeshift slumber.

"Hey," he complained, mumbling, opening one eye slightly, just enough to judge how mad she really was. She slipped his left shoe off, trying to think how many times in the past month she had asked him to keep his shoes off of her furniture. House leaned up a bit, realizing by the way that she tossed his shoe to the floor that he had messed up yet again.

"Truce?" he asked, sitting up on the couch and leaning towards the end table behind him to grab the bottle of red wine he had waiting for her.

Cuddy smiled faintly at the gesture. At least he thought of the wine, she pondered, even if she would trade all of the wine in the world if he would just make an effort to get along with Rachel.

"Truce," she responded as she started to rub his left foot softly while he uncorked the bottle and served each of them a glass.

"To us," he toasted, leaning in for a kiss.

Cuddy gave him a quick kiss and proceeded to drink the wine. "The thing is, House," she began, leaning back into the soft couch, "that us is three of us."

"I know," he grumbled, "I have the spaghetti sauce burns on my face to prove it."

"How's your leg?" she asked, still rubbing his left foot with her left hand, sipping the Merlot with her right, with her eyes planted on the spot behind his jeans that harbored the scar and missing leg muscle.

"Hurts," he said, remembering to try his best to be honest, even if he didn't want the attention or the pity. "But I'll live."

Cuddy turned her eyes towards him. She was literally exhausted, physically on the verge of collapse, and emotionally on the verge of a breakdown. She had spent so much time in this month they had been together trying to calm his fears, attempting to eliminate his worry, hoping to prevent him from relying his usual self-destruction when things are going well for him, that she had done little to take care of herself. And she was paying for it.

"I'll go draw you a hot bath," she said, putting her glass down and bringing House's left leg to the floor.

"No," he said, understanding her exhaustion and above all her disappointment. Before she could get up he had reversed positions with her as he brought her bare feet up to his lap and started to rub them. She looked at him gratefully and picked up her glass again. She was just starting to relax when House said simply, "She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, House," Cuddy chuckled. "She's 23 months old. She doesn't hate anything except broccoli."

He continued to work on her feet. "I want this to work, I keep hoping this time it will be different with the kid, but it always ends the same - she's screaming, my head is pounding, and you come in with that sad look of disillusion," he said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not disillusioned," Cuddy protested. "You are confusing pissed off with disillusion again."

House sighed. "It wasn't that long ago you are all about 'we're uncommon' and 'I've never been happier' and even then I knew it was a matter of time before the other shoe fell. I just didn't realize it would be toddler-sized."

Cuddy pulled her feet off of him and wrapped them under her legs, sitting even more comfortably on the couch. She picked up House's nearly untouched glass of wine and handed it to him. "So that's it? You are going to let a little girl destroy what has taken us over 20 years to begin to build?"

"She probably took to Lucas right away," he pouted.

"You are right, she did," Cuddy challenged. "But she was younger, not even one yet, and he wanted to get along with her."

"I want to get along with her."

"You may want to, but you don't expect to," Cuddy clarified. "And while you don't expect to, she won't allow it. You have to want this House," Cuddy insisted softly, touching his face, outlining his wrinkles with her fingers. "She needs to feel that you want this, that she is not just a nuisance to you, even if she is."

House brought his hand to hers and held it, their fingers lacing together perfectly. They sat there in silence, digesting the evening, both of them trying to figure out where to go from here. Yes, the kid was a nuisance. That is exactly what she was. But her mother adored her, and he adored her mother, so, he was going to have to find some way to like the kid, and even harder, for the kid to like him.

"It's only been a month, House," she said softly. "We are starting to figure out how to work together at the hospital. We can figure this out too."

She leaned into his face and kissed him softly, parting his lips with her tongue, letting him know she was not anywhere near giving up on him. As he started to return the kiss and forget about the throbbing pain in his leg which had now been replaced with a pleasing kind of throbbing in his lap, she pulled back.

"First, you are helping me with the kitchen," she said with confidence.

House rolled his eyes and silently cursed the kid for making such a mess and getting in the way of Little Greg's plans.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N - This is a collaboration with Haddicted, Muna16, and myself (i'mnotcrazy)_**

**_We don't own House, but we wish we did..._**

* * *

Chapter 3 (_Written by Haddicted*)_

_* - English is not Haddicted's first language. Please, forgive the typos and wrong word usage. I won't change anything she writes, because they're her words, and they are amazing!)  
_

She had always like autumn, it was hands down her favorite season, the comfy colors trees and leaves got creating the pleasant rainbow from dark blood red to pale and sparkling yellow, the smells of the ground wet because of the rain and pouring out the underground life, the first cloudy days barely warmed up by the last weak sun... Autumn spoke life through every little detail, people used to see it as a sad season because it leaded to icy and depressing winter, but she had always preferred look at the bright side of the season, the one that told her a whole new circle of life could begin. In the past days with the frenetic extra work to plan and properly organize the Halloween decorating contest the board had approved, more likely it would have been a damn mess, have all departments dressed up like sideshows could generate a huge confusion and since from when they've launched the idea slowly but surely Cuddy had been forced to face the ugly truth.

Doctors can be annoying competitive bitches.

In the last week, with the event fast approaching, she had seen almost everything happen: decoration stolen here and there, head of departments skipping the regular meeting because they were too busy planning the decoration, nurses asking to be moved from one to other department in order to participate with the "team" they thought better… The last thing on everybody's mind seemed to be the reason why they were doing it, provide the kids forced to spend the holiday at the hospital and their families a nice way to put aside their problems for one day had been slowly but surely pushed in the background, not to mention some people also seemed to have forgot they were to work and occasionally take care of the competition and not the other way around. As weird as it might sound, the only department that hadn't fall in the psychological Cold War about Halloween competition was House's one which gave her mixed feelings: Cuddy was sad about it from a certain point of view, diagnostic was the only department not participating and that hadn't really helped to increase House's reputation when it came to benefit or simply be nice to someone else, but in the other hand a cold shiver ran down her spine every time she wondered what he would have capable to do if involved in such a backstabbing environment.

No wonder then that with all that crazy things going on around her the dean of medicine could find a deep and effective distraction and tool to relax in filling her eyes with the nice and natural show of the autumn gently storming outside the window of her office, the colored carpet of leaves cracking under people's feet like pop corns, the light wind messing with the trees. She knew that bucolic image worked just for her, mainly because the wind seemed ready to bring in some dark clouds she could spot not too far away and they promised lot of rain, and the upcoming tempest outside easily reminded her the one she was dealing with, not just about the hospital.

_She hates me_ House had told her, it had been a week more or less, a week spent juggling her usual work, the Halloween extra one and her lover and daughter acting like dog and cat the whole time they shared the same space, and that sentence was still graved in her mind along with the empty and resigned voice of him. Back then she had tried to minimalize, to evoke the logic of a girl too young to seriously like or dislike something or someone but the more the time passed the more she wondered if House wasn't right. She did see his efforts although most of the time he really had the wrong approach, he seemed unable to understand he couldn't pretend to have and adult relationship with a 2 year's old girl…which ended up with him acting like one, and Rachel didn't seem to like her new "game buddy" at all. But Cuddy was a stubborn woman, she did believe it was just a matter of time and sooner or later Rachel would have started to see House not just as a grumpy man who occasionally showed up when mommy wasn't at home…

Shaking her head slowly, thinking after all there wasn't much she could do to change that since she couldn't force people to get along, and sure she didn't even want to try with those two, Cuddy took a deep breath and closed her eyes turning the chair to face her desk again, ready to go back to work if her busy mind would have allowed her to. Signing folders and read mails didn't take her long, but when she switched to check her emails one caught her attention, causing her stomach to twirl on itself all of sudden and a light sense of nausea overcame her. No, it couldn't be, it really couldn't…she read the same mail once again, twice, three times, checking dates and word by word, even letter by letter before leaning back on the chair, defeated and harmless in front of the ugly truth, of all the days they could have chose to do that why that one, why Halloween…why the Halloween she had chose to be the first one to take her daughter trick or threatening, why the one she was losing her nerves planning every detail?

Sadness, disillusion, discomfort, blunt and deep desperation sunk her on the chair, heart tried hard to convince her she should have just tossed the mail to the trash and pretend she'd never got it, but soon her mind and her dean of medicine voice dragged her back on track and had her face the inevitable fact she had to go, no matter what she couldn't missed that event. She was still debating with herself, arguments of her hearts getting weaker and weaker since the only reason to choose PPTH's Halloween was the personal one, when at least her rational mind came up with something more useful than just remind her she had responsibilities.

She did of course, responsibilities were her daily meat, but she had them not just toward the hospital.

Then, with a smirk on her face Cuddy practically jumped on the phone on her desk and grabbed the receiver, her fingers almost trembling as she dialed the number.

[H] [H] [H]

A couple of hours later Cuddy was still deep immerged in her work, as usually she didn't leave her personal issues to bug her to much knowing there always was something more important she has to take care of, still when the door of her office was opened with no warning by House she immediately felt the need to put down her pen and divert her attention from the legal annual report she was trying so hard to find interesting. Because House's face and his shy way of standing on the door really caught her complete attention, and she gulped down nervously when he closed the door behind him and went to the couch slamming his body on it with a loud sigh he blew out of his lips. Puzzled, and a little bit worried, Cuddy stood up and walked toward him sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch looking at House who had covered his face with one hand.

"I'm afraid to try with the kid." He blurted out as soon as Cuddy opened her mouth, which fell open for the honest surprise for something that was coming out of nowhere "To really try to get along with her, because if I do all I can and still it doesn't work…" he paused, he huffed pressing his mouth against his own hand producing some weird horse whinny sound then grunted and removed his hand, turning his head toward her a little "…well, if I really try and it still doesn't work…then it will be over. Everything."

"House, have you…please tell me you haven't been…"

"Thinking about this the whole week? You bet I did!" he growled rolling on his side to face her better "I do want to get along with her and I asked myself why it's so hard to me, kids are the closest shape of human kind I use to get along with because let's face it, I'm nothing but a grown up one myself… If I try my best to come on good terms with your kid and fail…why would you want me to be around?"

"For the umpteenth time House, our relationship is not about you become the father figure for Rachel."

"You said it Cuddy, it takes three to make this "us". I…" he huffed again and sat up on the couch resting his cane on his lap "…I don't want to try all I can to get along with her only to find out there's no chance it can happen no matter what it's…you know that saying? Win some or lose some, the important is to get some?" Cuddy nodded, it was hard to follow his words mainly because she found hard to believe he could have really thought so much about that…crap, it was hard to believe he had at all! "Well I don't want to just get some, I don't want to settle for a "I gave it all, it wasn't enough"…not with a kid involved…"

"House, House calm down ok?" she had to fight him, literally, in order to take his hands and shut him down and gain his attention "I…damnit I don't know what to say but…ok I know what to say actually. First," Cuddy stated looking straight into his eyes "stop demean yourself, stop think try is not worthy because you might fail. Second, nothing wrong can come up if you give all you can, I…I can see this matter to you and trust me, this is more than what I could expect. Lucas…no, let me say it." She squeezed his hands fiercely when he rolled his eyes, as always annoyed when the PI name came out "he got along with Rachel but he didn't have to put any effort in it, on the other hand he never came on good terms with my job, he never got it what it means to me…and he never even tried to."

"Cuddy we both know try is not enough…"

"But it's a start." She cut him, then she rolled her eyes at his attempt to protest further and leaned on him capturing the wining he was about to pull out in short and sweet kiss, his breath barely functioning once he realized that was the first time they kissed at the hospital and that alone could have been enough to state how serious she was, but then she slowly pulled back smiling widely at him and caressed his face "You're trying House, I know you are…you've been trying to stay drug free for more than a year and you made it…nothing bad can happen when you do your best. Believe it or not House" she insisted sitting next to him and taking his right hand in hers "knowing not only you're trying but you're afraid to fail means a lot to me."

"So this means…" he huffed wrapping on arm around her and drag her with him as he leaned back on the couch, muffling words with his mouth on her temple "your babysitter will have lots of free nights in the future?"

"Maybe." Cuddy chuckled leaning in his arms, there was a part of her who usually jumped on its feet to protest when she let their private side shows up at work but for once she shut it down. They've been tiptoeing around each other for a week or so, careful not to touch any delicate topic and barely talking when it wasn't strictly necessary not to take any risk, that had been the first real conversation in days and although tiring it had leaded them to an understand and to finally lose some tension.

Which made even harder for her deliver the news she had to.

I got an email from Eli." She said after a while, he was absently caressing her arm enjoying the new found peace and didn't stop although she felt him tense a little "The Atlanticnet Insurance CEO."

"Oh, the guy who's still looking for his balls after you chew them to get that 20%?" Cuddy snorted at his statement, he sure had a peculiar way to remember people and however weird it seemed to be quite effective "Is he seeking for revenge to get his masculinity back?"

"Nope, he invited me to benefit party of the company."

"Knowing you're kind of forced to attempt been the dean." House stated looking down at her "See, he is seeking revenge. That should be the most boring thing ever, I can hardly imagine something worst than a night out with greedy money vultures."

"I do." Cuddy moaned with genuine pain, sinking her face in his chest "It's Saturday night."

House's reaction was almost immediate, his whole body froze around her and that didn't really surprise her, but when he practically jumped on his feet shrugging her off of him vehemently and she had a hard time gulping down the sudden lump of fear forming in her throat.

"Oh no, don't ask." He stated immediately, holding up his both hands as to keep distance between them "Don't even think about it."

_Damn he thinks fast!_ Cuddy wined to herself, she bit at her bottom lip and slowly stood up and he took a step back.

"Please House."

No need to develop the request, he was no fool and so wasn't she: Saturday meant Halloween, which meant she wouldn't have been Rachel's Virgil all over the hospital, which meant…

"I'm not gonna do this." He stated with no hesitation "No way."

"It would be just for a couple of hours."

"One of us will be dead in less than one because either I kill her or I'll kill myself." House shoot back drily, apparently his good intentions weren't enough to deal with that scenario.

"She's a 2 year old kid," Cuddy tried to ease things with a small chuckle, stubbornly ignoring the blunt fear in his eyes "she can't be that hard to handle."

"Then do it yourself, it's your daughter after all."

Cuddy should have been pissed, she was really trying to be…just one minute before he was declaring his will to give it a serious try with Rachel and then there he was, chickening out. Still…how could she blame him? One thing was spend time with Rachel at home, a safe place and safe situation he could handle, a different one was follow her every step in place that was totally new for her and in such a special occasion…wasn't that what he was afraid of? Take a big step and then fail miserably, letting her down right where he wanted to succeed?

"I can't go House, I have to work." She sighed closing her eyes, he was well aware she really was sorry to miss that and she kind of was to be forced to ask him "You said it, I have to go. I got what I wanted last time but they're so important to us, I can't ignore it…"

"And you really think dump me the kid is a solution?"

_Ok,_ Cuddy thought holding a breath of hope _he switched from your daughter to the kid, that's a start._

"I'm asking you to do something nice for me." She stated matter of factly taking a step toward him, again relieved he didn't step back "Walking her around the hospital shouldn't be such a challenge."

"It's Halloween, in a hospital wrapped up like a carnival, she's three and dressed like a dump screwed up cartoon…it's a defcon 5 situation and you know it." He pointed out, skillfully nailing all the downsides of the situation, then sighed heavily and sunk his head in his shoulders muttering to his feet "Besides…I doubt she'd want me to take her."

"House.." it was all she said, Cuddy covered the distance and stood in front of him cupping his face in her hands, her heart aching for the defeated look she saw on his face as he spoke.

"You know it's true, and no matter my intentions we both know it still kind of goes both ways."

"You don't hate her and she doesn't hate you." Cuddy stated confident, he could sense the genuine faith in her own voice but the truth was something else.

"Nope, we just politely dislike each other, and "politely" just because she's three…don't fool yourself Cuddy, I know you'd like us to get along but it's not happening any time soon…you said it, it won't happen in the blink of an eye just because we want it to."

"Maybe you just…need time."

"Which sure doesn't mean force us together, especially to do something I hate and that's totally new for her…"

"And that I'll miss…her first real Halloween and I'll miss it."

Those words weren't planned, House could tell it by the way she averted her eyes from him as she spoke, turning around and oddly bracing herself seeking for comfort. He rolled his eyes at first, but then gulped down a guilty lump as her words settle down properly in his mind, even he could understand how fucking frustrating it should be for her…weeks spent planning something and being unable to attend, especially when it was more than just a hospital event but something she had been looking forward to as a real family moment. Sighing House stepped closer to her, resting his hands on her shoulders and absently massaging them as he fished for the right thing to say.

"Cuddy," he whispered behind her with a gentle voice, trying to sound sincere and clear at the same time "you do know send me with her won't change this?"

"I know but…knowing she's with someone who's part of my life…" she muttered leaning back into him, losing her arms along her sides as he slid his hands up and down "I don't know why but it makes me feel better."

"You want to play the little happy perfect family already?" he teased in her ear wrapping his arms around her "Thought you were ok with me trying little by little…"

"I'm not naïve House…I know whatever family we might have would be the most twisted and convoluted on earth, this is how we are…ok listen, drop it." She said then softly juggling out of his arms and going back to her desk, she didn't look mad but mostly resigned and to House it was hard to bear, especially when she tried to hide her disappointment by randomly moving stuff on her desk "I'll ask Wilson, he has to be there the whole time anyway…"

"Just tell me…" House huffed with a painful voice, regretting his words even before they fell out of his mouth "this isn't a scheming way to force me with her hoping things can change between us." He expected to glare at him resented, almost angry, but she didn't and instead the empty look she gave him with trembling eyes made him ashamed of himself for having even thought that "Ok…damn I hate myself already, but you owe me a big one." He said then, he growled something intelligible as he picked up his cane from the couch and headed to the door, where he stopped and looked back at her "Just for the record, what crappy costume…"

"Princess." Cuddy confessed with a shy smile "Pink."

"Why am I not surprised…" he muttered then, leaving the room with a mixed feeling of defeat and victory confusing him way too much.

[H] [H] [H]

It was getting dark outside, sooner than usual with the new season approaching and when Wilson knocked at the door of her office she was putting her coat and scarf on, ready to go home and enjoy a homier night. Oh yeah, she knew she had to tell Rachel mommy wouldn't have been with her at the Halloween party, but it could wait at least one more day.

"So…" the oncologist huffed a little bit hesitantly "…he didn't come to me as you warned me he could have done." She nodded and he looked back at him, carefully checking in case House was coming after him "Did he buy it?"

"Yep." She cheered quickly, and 's eyes widened in shock

"How did you…"

"Guilt I guess." Cuddy said, grabbing her briefcase and walking toward the door.

"How so? Not his fault if you can't come."

"Well ," she stated closing the door behind them as they both walked away "…apparently there's always something he feels guilty for I can cling on to have my way with him…"


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N - This is a collaboration with Haddicted, Muna16, and myself (i'mnotcrazy)_**

**_We don't own House, but we wish we did..._**

**_Also, this is posted in its entirety on the PPTH forum site. If you feel impatient, you can read it there, you won't hurt my feelings. I just ask that you give us some review love either here, or there. Both of my collaborators are on that site, and I'm sure they would LOVE to hear from you!_**

**_Also, not to hurt anyone's feelings, but no smut in this one...just some innuendo. ;-)  
_**

Chapter Four - (written by ImNC)

House felt like he had been played, and, despite his words to her, he was a little pissed about it. He had seen that damn letter from Alanticnet earlier that day as he had poked around her desk, but it didn't matter; he felt like he had been coerced into taking the damn brat trick or treating.

He made it back to his apartment, and he tossed his keys on the end table by the door, the discordant jangle echoing his ragged nerves. He limped to the fridge, hanging his cane on the molding that framed the entrance to his kitchen. He pulled a beer from the refrigerator, popping the top and taking a deep drink before limping back to the couch, where he collapsed, rubbing his thigh.

He turned on the TV, and he leaned back into the back of his couch. He flipped through his TiVo, but really wasn't in the mood to watch anything. He almost randomly dialed in a show. His mind wasn't really focused on who was dancing in scantily clad clothing a little closer to their partner than they should. It was going back in time to his own screwed up childhood, and what the holidays really meant to him.

Halloween wasn't really something they celebrated. Usually, they were out of the country for the holiday, and most most of the bases he was on didn't have many kids, and if they did, they didn't go trick or treating. The few times they were in America on October 31, his mother tried to take him around the neighborhood, but after he was eight or nine, his father stepped in, calling the holiday a "sissy" holiday, and they stopped celebrating.

He took another drink, putting the half-empty bottle on the table with a soft click, then he rubbed his face with his hands. Saturday was three days away. Normally he would be spending his Saturday nights drinking beer with Wilson and watching the big college game, betting against the spread. Instead, it looked liked he would be getting ready to haul an angry toddler around the hospital.

He sighed, leaning his head back against the cushions of the couch. He wanted this to work with Cuddy so badly. He knew she had been hesitant about introducing him to Rachel at first, and now, she was disappointed that it wasn't working out the way they would have liked. Even when Cuddy was there with them, there was a glacial chill between them, with Cuddy stuck in the middle. He knew, if push came to shove, if she had to choose between them, Rachel, rightfully so, would win out.

Not that either of them would give up without a fight.

He was worried that Cuddy's disappointment would grow into resentment, and that resentment would become small nails in the coffin that would house the ashes of their relationship. He chewed on his lip at that thought. He was happy; happier than he had been in a long, long time, and, despite the cold war being waged by he and her kid, she was happy, too. He didn't want to be the cause of the downfall of that happiness.

So, in an effort to keep them both he and Cuddy happy, and in bed with each other, he would parade her daughter around the hospital Saturday night with the children of other doctors and staff, as well as some of the healthier pediatrics patients, begging for candy and treats from people he schemed against and blackmailed every day.

Someone was going to make a killing on a bet for this, he just had a feeling.

He sat there on his couch for the next few hours, pretending to watch television, when a small, hesitant tap roused him from his thoughts. With a groan, he stood up, his thigh protesting with the effort. "Damn it," he growled. "I'm coming. Gotta give extra time to cripples, ya know," he grumbled.

He opened the door, and he wasn't surprised to see Cuddy standing there, a long, wool coat. He lifted a grizzled eyebrow in question, then stepped back, allowing her entrance to his apartment. He glanced at the clock, figuring Marina was probably not off duty tonight until nine, which meant Cuddy had wanted some alone time tonight.

"I.." she began, glancing around nervously. "I didn't mean for you to feel trapped earlier today," she sighed.

He shrugged. "I didn't feel..."

She shook her head, stepping into him, pressing a kiss to his lips to shut him up. "Don't. Don't start this again. If we don't talk about what's wrong, we're going to doom ourselves to failure." She gave him a small smile. "And I know you hate self-fulfilling prophesies."

He gave her a small smirk. "I hate prophesies in general, unless..." He pressed his thumb to the center of his forehead, closing his eyes and furrowing his brow as if he was deep in thought. "I see you getting naked in about ten minutes."

"You wish." She rolled her eyes. "Wilson's offer to take her still stands, if you want to back out." He face became grave and cold, but she forged through. "I won't think any less of you for not wanting to do this," she told him, softly but firmly.

He sighed. "I know." He pulled her into a tight embrace. "I want to show you that I can make an effort with her," he softly kissed her hair. "After all, I was the one who pushed you into letting me into her life more." She smiled against him, feeling his thumb tracing small circles over the small of her back. "Besides, if she becomes too much, I can just hand her off to my team for a few minutes. Chase is pretty enough to have baby-sat his way through high school." He frowned against her. "Damn, I wish Cameron was still around. She would have taken the kid in an instant."

Cuddy chuckled, and he could feel her vibrations through their layers of clothes and denials. He wanted to prove to her that he could be the man she needed in her life, but somehow, he always thought he was going to fall short. He hated that; she made him a better man. She lifted her chin up, and he caught a look of both humor and worry in those smokey eyes. "Your team members are not babysitters," she responded, a wry look in her eye.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. "What good are they, then, if I can't exploit them?" he huffed.

"You exploit them every day." she retorted. "Why do you think HR has a special form for applicants specifically being hired for your department."

"I know," he, grinned, pressing his forehead to hers. "It's full of all sorts of clauses that won't allow them to sue you or me."

A few heart beats of silence formed between them. "Are you sure you want to do this for me," she asked, still concerned.

"What, get you naked. Oh yeah," he gave her a lecherous grin.

"No, you idiot," she smacked him lightly. "Take Rachel around the hospital."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

She gave him a small smile. "You always have a choice. I won't be mad at you, no matter what choice you make."

He gave her a wry look. "I said I'd do it," he told her, nuzzling her, "so, I'll do it." He captured her lips with his, and he lightly tugged her hand in the direction of the bedroom. "You still have 5 minutes to fulfill my prophesy," he grinned at her, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

She laughed. "Let's go, hot shot. I've only got another hour 'til Marina leaves, anyway." She gave him an appraising look. "I'll have plenty of time to get home."

She sauntered down the short hallway, and he let her words sink in. His smile faltered. He limped after, quickly. "I'm gonna make you pay for that," he growled, shutting the door behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N - This is a collaboration with Haddicted, Muna16, and myself (i'mnotcrazy)_**

**_We don't own House, but we wish we did..._**

**Chapter 5 - **_(Written by Muna 16)_

_The day before the party...  
_

"You're late," House complained as he opened the door for his best friend. "The game just started and the pizza got here five minutes ago."

Wilson entered and immediately opened the box sitting on the coffee table. Several slices were missing, with greasy triangles left on the cardboard box. "Gee, thanks for waiting," Wilson answered. "And you have Tivo and can make the game stop, you know," he reminded him.

"Oh yeah," House said, "my bad, forgot."

They both settled in on the couch, watching football as they ate. During the commercial break Wilson headed into the kitchen and brought two beers back with him. He couldn't help but chuckle at the bottle of Diet Arizona Iced Tea in the fridge.

"So, how are things going with Cuddy?" Wilson asked, eliciting a groan from his friend.

"Three minutes. You managed to go three minutes this time without asking," House said. "You already saw the iced tea in the fridge, so you know things are fine. Oooh - pass interference," House yelled. "He was all over him, did you see that?"

"What I saw was a poor attempt at deflection," Wilson said. "Seriously, House, relationships are hard, and it's normal for you to struggle with-"

"The only thing I am struggling with is this one bra that she sometimes wears that unhooks in the front. You'd think it would be easier, but-"

"Two deflections in one minute," Wilson said, taking long drink from the beer bottle. "Must be worse than I thought."

"Did she tell you anything?" House asked, trying to seem nonchalant. "Come on, I know you two talk."

"House, she's never been happier. You've never been happier." He took another gulp from the bottle. "But for two people who've never been happier, you both are really kind of a mess."

"First it was work, and when we started to figure that out, it became about the kid," House said carefully, staring at the pizza box instead of the game on the tv.

Wilson shrugged his shoulders. "Well - that is perfectly understandable. For Sam and me it's been easier because it's just the two of us. But Cuddy, she had Rachel before she ever thought she could have you, and that is going to take time."

"She hates me."

"No she doesn't, House. She probably just sees you as the guy who takes mommy away."

House put down the crust of his last pizza slice. "No, I mean, she hates me. She throws things at me. Blocks, dolls, food, whatever she has handy," House admitted.

Wilson was surprised to find that House was really struggling with this. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that House could be really trying to be a father figure of some sort for Rachel. "And how do you treat her?" his friend asked.

"What do you mean? She's two. Her words are mostly unintelligible; she mostly chews on my cane and cries uncontrollably." House took another sip of beer and rested back on his couch. "Oh yeah, did I tell you the part about the kid being a brat?"

Wilson laughed.

"It's not funny," House said seriously, realizing that this is the first serious bump in his relationship with Cuddy. She had said all of the right things, but deep down he knew that if he couldn't make things work with Rachel, he would never be able to work them out with Cuddy.

"I was just thinking," Wilson said, "that I can imagine Rachel hanging out with her two year old friend, describing you to her in much the same way."

"Like I said," House responded, "not funny."

"So she throws blocks at you. How do you treat her?"

"How do I treat her? I do what she needs - feed her, clean her up, keep her from sticking her finger in a socket. It always ends the same way. She's crying and Cuddy is disappointed."

"Do you play with her?"

House opened his eyes wide. "No. Do you think if I sat for a tea party it would make any difference? Because I'll tell you right now - Cuddy's teapot is pretty big and can do some real damage."

Wilson finished his beer and headed back towards the kitchen. "You have to find something you have in common with her," he suggested.

"We both want Cuddy all the time," House said, resigned.

"That's not going to help," Wilson said, returning with another beer for each of them. "You need to find something else."

House stared at him blankly.

"Come on, House," Wilson said. "You get along great with kids. Why is this one so different?"

"I don't know," House said, feeling completely defeated. "She just is."

"Maybe it's because you know it matters. With the kids you treat, or the kids of the patients you treat, you don't care about them personally - you do what you need to do. You are honest without hesitation. You don't care if they like you."

"You think it will help if I don't care if she likes me?"

"No, I think it will help if you stop thinking she will never like you. Be yourself. She just might be as crazy as her mom," Wilson joked.

"But they aren't genetically related, so, the chances of that are-"

"I've got it," Wilson said with sudden excitement. "What do you do with a patient who is critical and getting worse when you can't find a quick answer on your ddx?"

"I treat and look to learn something new," he answered. He looked at and stood up abruptly. "That's it - treat and wait for a new symptom," House repeated, his enthusiasm palpable.

"It might work," Wilson began to say, but House was at the door.

"Get out - I have thinking to do," he said abruptly.

"House, Sam's book club is at the condo discussing some chick story," he said pathetically. "The game-"

"Don't care - Out," House directed again with authority. As Wilson headed dejectedly out the door, House quickly stuck out his hand. "Wait, not so fast, you owe me $15 for the pizza."


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N - This is a collaboration with Haddicted, Muna16, and myself (i'mnotcrazy)_**

**_We don't own House, but we wish we did..._**

* * *

Chapter Six – _(written by Haddicted)_

Nervous already, Cuddy walked to the living room holding Rachel for her dear life, sighing slightly as she poked her head in the door and spotted House sprawled on the couch mesmerized by some movie with women playing baseball on the TV.

"Female softball?" she couldn't resist to chuckle "Are you this really this desperate?"

""_A League of Their Own" _it's not just about female softball…" he grunted "and they're playing baseball, just so you know."

"Oh…" Cuddy mumbled sitting down on the couch and forcing him to make some room for her too "…I'm sorry, I should have catch the difference by the way they're chewing and spitting tobacco."

"They…" House pointed out again "…are Tom Hanks and Geena Davis." For the first time his eyes left the screen and he finally looked at her, his attempt to explain her what a great movie about baseball that was stolen when he saw Rachel in her arms "It's the time already?"

"I guess so." She said in a low mutter, smiling when he sighed and sat properly with his back on the couch and lazily stretched his arms to take the kid.

As soon as he did the girl squirmed in Cuddy's lap and pulled back, House's arms froze in the air and with a sharp shiver of pain the woman saw him almost deflate like a balloon at her daughter's resistance. She did her best to smile at him, he made an incredible effort to do back while she forced Rachel to look at her although they both knew that wasn't really a good head start.

"Rachel sweetie, mommy needs to get dressed now." She explained softly, she quickly glanced at House who was now leaning forward on his knees watching the movie again, a resigned expression all over his face "Remember what I told you? Mommy is going out tonight."

"Me out too!" Rachel announced loud, delighted.

"Yeah Rachel you too…" Cuddy bit at her bottom lip and took a deep breath, caressing her daughter's head "…but you're not coming with me, you'll stay with House." She didn't know how she could have expected her daughter to understand it, still the lost look on her face broke her heart "Mommy needs to go to work, but you're going to the Halloween party…"

"YAY, 'loween!" Rachel cheered throwing her arms up in the air, not that she really knew what Halloween was but having been to a couple of birthday parties she did know nothing bad could come out of them.

"Oh see? You want to go the party, right?" Cuddy insisted, feeling bad since she knew she was about to jerk her daughter around.

"Yes mommy, I want!"

"Good…", holding Rachel with one hand she sent her left one looking for House's and took it, paying attention the girl saw it "…House is going to take you to the party."

She had to admit it, with all her heart Cuddy hoped House wouldn't leave her all the hard work in deliver Rachel the news and no matter how much she loved him she didn't expect him to cooperate for real… Instead, to her major surprise, Cuddy felt him squeeze her hand back and turn off the TV, then he turned toward them and smiled broadly to Rachel, giving her a mischievous smile.

"We'll have some fun." He stated, winking at her with an exaggerate gesture "I'm the King of the party!"

"Mommy…" Rachel mumbled, immediately doubtful and nervously chewing her little fingers.

"Rachel, you're gonna be ok and you'll have lots of fun." Cuddy urged to reassure her "There's gonna be a lot of kids for you to play with…"

"…and candies." House blurted out, he could tell by the way Rachel's face was contorting situation was quickly falling and an intervention was needed "If we go we'll have tons of candies to eat."

"I want candies with mommy!"

"Rachel, listen…I can't, but I'll join later…"

"Oh but with mommy you wouldn't get any candy." House stated, then shrugged dismissively and pretended he didn't care anymore "Too bad, I'll take them all for myself."

"I want candy!" the girl pouted and squirmed in Cuddy's lap "I want candy and mommy!"

"Well, mommy could come actually…" House muttered absently, causing Rachel's face to lighten up in hope and Cuddy's one to darken with confusion "…but you won't get much candy though."

"House…" Cuddy warned him, he was clearly up to something but she couldn't see the end of the road he was taking.

"Oh it's true." He said firmly, then ignored Cuddy and looked straight at Rachel speaking with a soft and calm voice "Did mommy tell you what trick or treat is?" he asked, Rachel took her time to think about it but then nodded firmly "We treat to have candies right? And you know why people chose to give candy?" silent, now quietly interested, Rachel shook her head no with a focused expression all over her little face "Because they're scared we can be bad to them if they don't, so…" he leaned down on her, he was a big man and she was a small girl and the way he hovered on her daughter made even Cuddy feel a little bit unease "…who's the one who's bad the most? Me or mommy?"

That of course wasn't even an option, someone from the hospital might have opened a debate over who was the scarier one between them but to Rachel Cuddy it was clear as the light of the day. Mommy was mommy, she was good and sweet why House was like Grumpy who had eaten the first Shrek and married the bad wolf from the story…if it was about scary people, he was the one right for the job. Sensing something was going on in that little dark haired head House kept his gaze on Rachel, he could feel Cuddy's eyes on him and could easily imagine her puzzled look even without checking, but he was confident enough she could understand what he was doing had a bigger and more noble purpose than just terrifying her daughter.

Apparently she got it, no doubt about that, and a few minutes later Cuddy was upstairs getting ready and he was struggling to get Rachel into a midgets sized princess costume.

One hour later while walking downstairs and adjusting once again her dress Cuddy was taken aback by the quiet silence coming from the living room, silence was rarely a good thing in a place with a child and even more in one where the child was about to live her first Halloween night. Biting at her bottom lip, clinging on the effective stunt House had pulled out before in order to help her out and convince Rachel, Cuddy urged down the stairs at the fastest speed her heels could allow her and ran to the living room, which she found empty.

"No!" the screaming voice of her daughter came loud from the kitchen, immediately alarming her for the impressive amount of decibel, Cuddy ran in that direction and stormed in just in time to hear her shout again "I want beers!"

Cuddy's eyes widened in shock at her daughters fierce request, wondering how could House lead a two years old girl into alcohol on 60 minutes and ready to jump on his throat taking advantage of the fact he had his back to the door. But when she took the first step toward the kitchen table they were sitting at she got confused, not spotting any sign of beer around the room she frowned and looked around puzzled until House spoke.

"We ran them out kid, no more gummy bears." He tried to explain calmly "You have to try something else."

"I want gummy!" the girl wined again, pouting and folding her arms, then she saw her mom and stretched them to her seeking for help "Mommy, I want gummy."

Relieved, Cuddy reached for her and picked her up glancing down at House, who seemed as much relieved as she was, in the meantime widening her eyes at the various sorts and sizes of candies lined up on the table. It was an impressive collection she had to admit, candies, jellies and chocolates Halloween themed ordinate displayed on the table one next the other, but just one of each as if House was having Rachel test them all…ok, that was exactly what he was doing and it didn't take long to Cuddy to figure out, but once again what she couldn't get was the reason behind that.

And she wasn't sure she wanted to find out either.

"House…"

"I gave her just one." He protested quickly, immediately en guard with her as he stood up and cleared the table.

"What were you doing?" she asked, she didn't sound pissed but just curios, knowing he surely had an agenda it was just a matter to know about what exactly.

"Trying to buy your daughter's love with candies." He said with a shrugged.

"Well," Cuddy huffed looking at her daughter's amused face "you bought my love through mocking, harass and sexual remarks…I guess that's an improvement."

"Oh c'mon Cuddy, you were not that cheap." He smirked "What took you so long anyway?"

"Breaking news for you House, I'm a woman." She said with a chuckle, wiping some chocolate away from her daughter's mouth and positively impressed House's tasting hadn't affected her costume.

"Yeah about this…" he mumbled staring at her from tip to toes, catching every detail of her black classy dress and sending her with his piercing stare the feeling of being totally undressed by him "…don't you think that dress makes it way too clear?"

Cuddy smiled softly and placed Rachel in her high chair, she handled the girl some water then turned toward House with a teasing smile.

"I get you like it."

"I do, and I don't want other people to." He clarified as she leaned on him, he wrapped his arms around her and muttered gruffly "You do know the contract is already signed with them? Is not like you have to gain her attention or something…"

"House…" she sighed sliding her hands on his chest, enjoy the thrill his jealousy always gave her "…I'm sure whatever dress I'd picked you would have gone against it no matter what."

"Not true…" he mumbled, kind of distracted by her breasts poking from the dress as he looked down "…you have some fancy, large and hiding sport sweater I love."

"You know you're cute when you're jealous?" she teased him, smiling at his soft growl "It's a nice feeling."

"You know what else would be nice?" he murmured brushing her lips with his "You dump the party and come with us."

She took her time to answer his kiss, they both knew her answer would have disappointed him and there was no need to rush so she enjoyed the kiss the longest she could, her heart aching for how bad she wanted to do as he was saying.

"Don't eat mommy!" Rachel warned from behind them, pulling them apart with both of them regret for once, but if Cuddy turned toward her and smiled House kept growling low curses to the young girl and her bad timing.

"Look at my little princess!" Cuddy cheered looking at Rachel costumes as she picked her up again "You're beautiful sweetie."

"You too mommy!" she said back throwing her arms around her mom's neck "Mommy, I don't want you to go."

"I know sweetie, but I have to work."

"This not clothes to work." The girl stated, causing House to grunt in approval.

"See?" he protested pointing at the kid with his cane and looking over at Cuddy "She can get it too!"

"Ok, next time I'll ask my fashion consultants for some help. Now," Cuddy said, exasperated and wondering why those two seemed to be able to get along only when it came to team up against her "let's all get our coats, we need to go."

No matter their conflicts both Rachel and House knew were not to mess with mommy, each of them for their very personal reason, and none of them protested any further. Cuddy carried Rachel to the hallway and helped her get her small coat on while House grabbed his own, he had to grumble out his protest when Cuddy pulled out of her purse the small plastic crown which was supposed to be Rachel's costume cherry on top once at the hospital but he ended up stuff it in his pocket no matter what. They left the home and headed to the car, taking advantage of Cuddy tying up Rachel in her seat House took hold of the driver place desperately needing to feel in control of something the longest he could, knowing from the moment Cuddy would have left them at the hospital to head to her party he would have hardly been able to keep track of the situation. Once they got the hospital both adults got out of the car, House waited for Cuddy to walk around the car and stopped her before she could open the back door and take Rachel out, the woman immediately felt in his touch the need to have just a moment together before the headed out to her party and give the situation in which she was about to leave him she couldn't really deny it to him.

"You're gonna be ok House." She reassured him straightforwardly.

"You're not worried about me. You're worried about her." He counterattacked, but she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not the one worried House, you on the other hand are easy to freak out." She clarified caressing his cheek "Just walk her around, show her the decoration, help her get the candies and don't eat them all yourself."

"Like you'll let her eat them on her one anyway." He muttered with a grin "What point in let her trick or treating if she can't enjoy the results of it?"

"It's not like she has to eat all she gets tonight." Cuddy pointed out, she kept caressing his shoulders and she was painful impressed by how tensed he was "Seriously House, don't be nervous, ok?"

"You know I can't help it." He admitted painfully resting his forehead on hers.

"And I know you're trying no matter what." She said with a smile "What you did before with her, it was great."

"I lied to her."

"No you didn't…you're really the scarier one." Cuddy chuckled, then stood up and kissed him "We gotta go now, or I'm gonna be late."

House watched her pull back from him without saying word and just nodded, then Cuddy opened the door and freed Rachel from the seat. She picked her up and they headed to the entrance, but soon Rachel announced a big girl like her should make her entrance on her own and Cuddy put her down, holding her hand as her daughter walked oddly on her own, none of them really surprised when she didn't look for House's hand too. They entered the hospital main hall and House immediately felt sick to his stomach, the room looked like a giant orange paint balloon had exploded and every corner of the room made it look like the interiors of a rotten pumpkin. He hadn't many Halloween on his cv, most of them he had spent them in countries which didn't even know what Halloween was but he had always suspected that wasn't his holiday…no holiday was his holiday, that was the point of course.

His head was still spinning as he lost count of ghost shaped items all over the room around 45 when they reached the acceptation desk, welcomed by a nurse with a fitting witch mask who tickled his sarcasm muscles immediately. Then Cuddy lifted Rachel up and placed her sitting on the desk, the princess immediately magnetized everybody's attention while Cuddy instructed the nurse about where and how they could reach her in case of need. Once she was done Cuddy gave her daughter a kiss on her forehead ready for another goodbye and the consequential apology, but something in the girl face alarmed her and she bent down on her, they carried on a whispered and suspicious conversation for a while, even if he couldn't hear it House knew it was about him given how often they looked and pointed at him, and when Cuddy asked the nurse to keep an eye on Rachel for a moment and cornered House for a private conversation he knew he was screwed.

"What? Her costume is too large? She wanted something tighter and more revealing like mommy?" he shoot immediately as they were alone "Listen, I didn't pick it, so…"

"It's not about her costume…" Cuddy said him, maybe she was trying to be reassuring but it didn't really work.

"Then what?"

"It's about yours…"

"I don't have one."

"Yeah…that is the problem."

"I'm not dressing up like a monkey or something to please her. No way." He clarified immediately smelling the menace "The deal was have her enjoy the night, not me, and sure not on my skin."

"Everybody is dressed here somehow here House, maybe you can just use a mask."

"No way Cuddy, this wasn't the deal, I…" huffed vehemently jerking his hand off of her hold, then looked around the room crowded with idiots who apparently spent the whole year planning their outfit for that night, then his gaze intercepted Rachel's one begging her mom "You do know this is like when she'll be 13 and she'll start smoke because everybody already does that?"

"No House, it's about her wanting to enjoy this with you."

"No, she wants to humiliate me."

"She's two! What can she possible know about humiliation?"

"You should start watch some cartoons with her too, you'd be impressed by the amount of mean things they show nowadays."

"Don't deflect House, we don't have time for this."

"I'm not deflecting, I'm saying you I won't do it." He stated, he tried his best to fight her gaze but the moment she tilted her head on one side showing her painful defeat he hated himself and blamed Wilson for having infected him with his wuss virus, then he sighed deeply and shook his head, muttering defeated "What am I supposed to wear anyway…"

"Wow!" Wilson babbled, bluntly shocked at the view of House standing on the door of his office wearing a white lab coat and holding Rachel's hand "I…wow…so it took Halloween to have you wear one of those again?" the oncologist asked in between his laughs, then he stood up and approached the dead man walking.

"Not exactly." House grumbled, he knew he couldn't be possible given the layers in between but he could swear the lab coat was itching him all over "It took an evil princess and a cunning witch."

"I see…" Wilson mumbled picking up Rachel "Oh, what a lovely princess do we have here! Can I have a dance with you lady?"

Rachel giggled and nodded at the man who produced himself in a little silly dance causing House's stomach to turn upside down again, then the oncologist put he down again and looked over at House again.

"I'm impressed…I wasn't even sure your coat suited you anymore, doctor."

"He's not doctor!" Rachel explained standing on the couch she had climbed, waving one hand in House's direction "He's magician!"

Amused by the girl declaration Wilson looked over at House, the defeated look on his face was priceless and just then he noticed the skull cane in his hand.

"I bet we're not talking about white magic here…." The oncologist muttered.

"White magic is a fraud." House stated, then he limped to couch and picked up Rachel to put her back on the ground "The only reason why you use magic is to manipulate things, therefore every magic is a bad one." He clarified knowingly and handling her the pumpkin shaped basket where to collect her candies, then he took her free hand and headed to the door, nodding at Wilson on his way out "Keep the red phone free Robin, I might use some help at Gotham tonight."


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N - This is a collaboration with Haddicted, Muna16, and myself (i'mnotcrazy)_**

**_We don't own House, but we wish we did..._**

**_

* * *

_**

**_Chapter Seven_** _(written by ImNC)_ -

Streamers and balloons dotted the brightly lit hallways, the light killing the effect that the black cut-outs of witches, black cats, and bats that dotted the walls. House limped down the hall with Her Majesty, scowling at anyone who even attempted to make eye contact with him. He planned on dutifully making the rounds, hoping that time would suddenly fast forward, and Cuddy would be back to take the little devil in pink home. She had promised him that she would be back before eight, since Rachel's bedtime was around nine. He glanced at his watch; it was just after five thirty, and two and a half hours with the Pink Prodigy would be enough for him.

He wanted to run his hand through his hair, but both of his appendages were occupied. Rachel had a death grip on his left hand; her grasp so tight he swore he was loosing circulation, and his right hand gripped the handle of his cane. Cuddy had offered him her stroller, but he had declined. Not only was Rachel rejecting the cumbersome thing, choosing instead to exercise her freedom and rapidly developing motor functions by walking, he wouldn't be caught dead pushing the damn thing.

Thank god for paid minions.

Chase leaned against the elevators, his short blond hair artfully disheveled. He wore jeans, and a black button down shirt over a white t-shirt with a skull graphic on hit. Thick stubble coated his cheeks, and he held a cane at his right hand, as well as a mocking grin on his face.

House was not amused.

"Seriously? Are you that unoriginal?" He asked, scowling a little. "You could have picked something other than your boss," he snorted.

"Yeah," Chase responded with a wink. "But you won't believe the phone numbers I got tonight. Apparently, being you has its benefits, though, everyone keeps betting on how long it takes you to kill me." He shrugged, heaving himself upright. "Besides, I wasn't going to come to this damn thing, anyway."

"Get yourself some hot, paid-by-the-hour tail?"

Chase glanced nervously at the kid, who was poking a pumpkin carved with a exaggerated happy face with her scepter. "No," he said under his breath, rolling his eyes. "I don't have to pay for my women," he said in a low tone, keeping one eye on the oblivious little girl.

"You're too pretty for that," House grinned, noticing where his fellow's eyes were focused on. "So, you ready to do this?" he asked with a grin.

"I can't believe you're making me do this," Chase muttered, then he crouched down. "I'm Doctor Chase," he introduced himself to Rachel, who stared at him for a moment. House watched, wary of her reaction. Would she throw a tantrum, or would she take to the handsome doctor showing her all eighty-two of his gleaming white teeth. Finally, she tossed her dark hair back, standing as regally as a two year old could. "King!" she squealed, pulling off her tiara and putting it on Chase's head.

House was feeling some mixed emotions. As amused as he was at the sight of a plastic, glitter encrusted tiara perched on top of Chase's bed-head, a snarling, green-eyed feeling of jealousy well up with in him. Chase was about as enthused as he was to be toting the tiny tot around the hospital, but she warmed up to him, and his smiling, too-handsome face immediately. Why couldn't she warm to him like that? True, Chase and Cameron had babysat a time or two for Cuddy right after she got Rachel, but then, she had been a tiny infant, not more capable of eating, sleeping, crying and pooping.

He watched with even more jealousy at the ease that Chase picked her up, and he proptly put her on his shoulders, her chubby hands gripping his hair tightly while he held on to her legs. Chase must have sensed his feelings, because the rogue gave him a small wink. Damn the man; he'd pay for that. "Let's go, li'l Princess," he told Rachel. He turned around to walk into the elevator, and while his back was turned, Rachel spun around and stuck her tongue out at House, screwing up her face to give him a dirty look. He returned the look, then Chase spun around. "Are you coming, House?" Chase smirked as he lifted up an eyebrow, then he limped in the elevator, resigning himself to the hell that was this night.

[H] [H] [H]

The minutes drug by so slowly. They had to have seen half the hospital, but still, it was only six thirty, with another hour and a half to go.

"Counting down the minutes won't make them go any faster," Chase commented mildly as Rachel sped ahead, smiling at the one of the female doctors in ophthalmology, the department decked out like a cottage out of Hansel and Gretel, complete with the doctor wearing a pink and black witch's outfit, her black, pointy hat wrapped in a bright pink ribbon and tipped at a rakish angle. She had informed Chase that she was a good witch, with a wink, as a few of the staff members in costume handed out candy. House eyed the plastic wrapped, sugary morsels enviously. No way would Cuddy allow her daughter to have more than a few pieces of candy, if any at all, and Cuddy herself didn't dare touch the forbidden fruit. He'd sneak the stash out of Cuddy's house, and into his office some time the next day. He hoped that there were going to be lots of red lollipops in her little pink pumpkin pail by the end of the night.

He limped over and snagged a cherry DumDum from the large bowl of treats on the counter, drawing glares and dirty looks from the staff. "I know that," he growled as he peeled off the wrapper. He smirked a little as the sweet burst of cherry hit his tongue. "I just don't like the look of grown men and women dressed like clowns."

"Ha," Chase snorted, taking Rachel by the hand. "You only like certain kinds of costumes, right? The ones that expose lots of skin?"

They headed out of the offices, ready for the next group. Chase's cell phone began to beep, and he excused himself to take the call. Rachel reluctantly took House's hand. House paused, deciding where to go next. At this pace, they'd still be trick or treating when Cuddy made it back. They headed down the hall to the elevator, ready to hit up the Cardiology wing. Unfortunately for them, they didn't realize how enthusiastic the lab techs in Cardiology were.

Rather than the G-rated bright and happy Halloween scenes they had been treated to (Pediatrics had even went out and tried to replicate Linus' pumpkin patch from _It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown_, and the Pulmonary Disease offices had used _Garfield_ as an inspiration), the young techs had decided that they were going to go all out, and they turned there department's offices into Dracula's lair, right down to a cardboard coffin in the center of the room. The lights were dim, and they had purple and red strands of lights along the walls. A tiny smoke machine dutifully pumped fog into the foyer near the desk, and an CD player was filling the area with spooky sounds.

Diagnostics hadn't participated in the contest, but, now, House had wished that he had paid a little bit of attention to what the different departments had decorated their offices.

Rachel was already clinging to his legs, not liking all the hanging bats and strange shadows on the wall. Someone had even put up a couple of fake pictures that changed from a normal looking human to a zombie as you passed it, and he heard her whimper a little. "It's okay, kid," he told her uneasily, sensing her discomfort. "We'll skip this one." She nodded, still clinging to his good leg. "You want me to carry you?" He was trying to be nice; secretly, he hoped she didn't want him to. His leg was already aching from the all the walking. He was relieved when she shook her head.

They were preparing to turn around and leave, when the coffin burst open, and a tall, lanky tech with his longish hair slicked back and dyed black rose out of it, spreading his arms wide as his cape billowed out around him. Rachel screamed, and she wrapped her arms around both his legs, unintentionally squeezing his scar, hard.

Stars flashed in front of his eyes, and he doubled over. For a moment, he lost track of everything as he tried to get his pain under control. After a few deep breaths, he gained control of his pain, and he stood up. "Hey man, are you alright?" The tech had come over, and he had a look of genuine concern on his face that transcended the thick layers of white cream make-up.

House gripped his cane in both hands and swung it like a golf club at the kid's knee. "OWW, man!" the kid shrieked, doubling over himself. "Why the hell did you do that."

"_That's_ for scaring the crap out of my girlfriend's two year old," he grunted, then he looked around. He didn't hear her familiar cries; he could recognize her cries in a mosh pit; they'd become so familiar. He glanced around the office. "Rachel?" he called. "Rachel?" He spun around, looking for the pink menace. "RACHEL!" he bellowed, panic starting to settle thickly in his gut as realization swept over him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight (_written by Haddicted) - _

He ran, the closest thing to it a man with a missing muscle in a leg and a cane could do.

Around the room at first, tearing apart the decoration and tossing around everything on his way, anything that in his panicking mind could have been a suitable hiding place for a scared two year's old girl, nothing but deaf to the tech protests which were wisely getting weaker and weaker by the minute. When he had to face the ugly truth Rachel wasn't there he ran out of the room scanning the hallway on both directions hoping to see something, a pink bundle trotting away or crying in corner, he would have paid to see her wining in some stranger arms but he wasn't that lucky.

He burst out of Cardiology wing in a hurry, his blood pumping in his brain to give it the necessary strength to think straight and find the right thing to do, and for the time being what he came up with was so simple it itched him to rely on that.

Good luck.

"Have you seen a kid?" he asked breathless at the nurse behind the desk at the end of the hallway, dressed like a weird female version of Frankenstein "A girl, two years old, pink princess…"

The nurse didn't even answer him, she looked skeptical at him from behind her glasses then glanced around them, her working location besieged by a colored crowd of kids dressed like almost everything human mind could think off, a dwarfing collections of samples that had at least 5 princesses among it. He clenched his jaw realizing how stupid and naïve he had been, he should have known better his question was as idiot as his hopes to find Rachel so easily and he registered his lame attempt as a dangerous sign. He was freaking out already, he have had an emotional and irrational reaction and he soon figured out he couldn't let it happen again, that was not the kind of attitude that could have helped him find Rachel.

No, he thought as he stepped back from the desk and pull out his cell phone and limped to the elevators, what he had to do was focus, don't panic and think.

What he needed was a plan.

[H] [H] [H]

"Ok, so everything is clear?" he repeated for the umpteenth time to his team and Wilson, who all nodded at him as he checked his watch "We have an hour more or less before Cuddy get's here, we need to search the entire hospital and find her."

"I don't get it…" Chase muttered, he wanted to go on but House blurted out almost yelling.

"Why do we have to find your boss's daughter? It's simple, if we don't we're gonna be all dead."

"You are going to be in trouble if she finds out you lost Rachel." Foreman pointed out, stating his desire not to be involved in any way in that story.

"And who do you think will suffer the misery coming out of it?" House threatened intentionally, sending shivers down everybody's spine.

"I meant…" Chase tried again "…why are we doing this? Why don't we call security to help us out?"

It was a good question, a very reasonable one and Wilson looked curiously at his friend standing behind the desk in his office, the aura of confidence and command wrapping him right before suddenly deflating living space to a defeated expression which was hard to watch for him.

"If we call security they'll tell Cuddy." He stated sitting heavily on his chair, his right hand brushing his leg furiously "They have to inform the dean of medicine when someone asks their massive intervention, and if they call her they'll have to tell her why they've been mobilized…which means they'd tell her the reason why they're on alarm is to find her daughter."

And he couldn't allow that. He did want to find Rachel and hopefully find her nothing but scared and mad at him, but he couldn't help but think about save his own ass the longest he could, postponing the longest he could the moment of truth and trying to solve the crisis on his own. He couldn't picture himself call Cuddy and tell her he had lost Rachel, he couldn't bear her reaction knowing she would have been mad at him not only when he thought she might had been worried for her daughter more than mad at him…once the worries would have gone, one way or the other, the only thing left would have been his failure, his unsuitability as responsible adult… No, he had to play all his cards to solve the situation on his own and leave calling Cuddy the last resort, the point of no return.

"Ok guys, let's go." Wilson came to his rescue looking at the team "We all know where to go, whoever find her or learn something call House."

The men nodded at the oncologist and Wilson left the room, he took his time to look over at his friend who had turned his chair toward the window and was staring blankly at it, sure lost in millions of unpleasant thoughts. Wilson didn't lose time asking him why he wasn't join them on the search, if he didn't want Cuddy to know in any way last thing he needed was the dean's boyfriend running all over the hospital searching for her daughter after all. He shook his head and left the office, heading straight to the ground floor he had been assigned to, hoping that positive voice in the back of his neck telling him everything would have been alright in the end wasn't that naïve as it sounded.

Left alone, House sunk his face in his hands sighing exasperated, he had thought there would have been nothing worse than being stuck with Rachel for Halloween but there it was, the Murphy's Law hitting him like a precise lightning bolt right up his ass. He was worried, he tried to convince himself more likely Rachel had been rescued by a nurse who knew her and was now drinking apple juice in the doctor's lounge but he wasn't an optimistic man at all, and since all he could think about was unpleasant and ugly as kidnapping or even worse he tried to shut down his own brain. Wait helplessly was something he wasn't good at, but it was less frustrating than spend his all energies in pictures horrible scenarios.

None of them was a good and positive one, that was why when Foreman called him after a bunch of minutes announcing he had found Rachel he didn't feel like keep his hopes high. He stood up and nervously paced the room after the neurologist's call, his leg was pumping waves of pain all over his body but all seemed to stop for a second when through the glass walls he spotted Foreman walking down the hallway hand-guiding with him a little kid dressed in pink. His heart skipped and so did his breath as they approached, unable to wait he stepped out of his office in the hallway right on time to see the wide smile on his fellow's face as he almost proudly showed him the girl attached to his hand. Eager like a pirate in front of a fresh unburied treasure chest House bent down oddly kneeling in front of the pink princess, holding her tiny shoulders and keeping his breath. His observation didn't last long, as an erupting volcano he rose from the ground slandering his tall figure up and hovering on his fellow.

"Are you out of your mind?" he roared right in his face pointing down at the kid "She's not Rachel!"

"What?" Foreman babbled looking down at the little girl who was chewing out her fingers "Are you sure?"

"The hell I'm sure! Who's this kid?" he looked down at her too, freezing when her face contorted in a promising crying face that terrorizes him "And above all whose kid is she?"

That was a of course the mother of all question, House's terror quick travelled to Foreman's face too as the neurologist seemed to be hit by the epiphany he had kind of kidnapped a random girl from the third floor. And it didn't get any better when he knelt in front of her and fumbled with his hands on her costumes, revealing a hospital bracelet around her right wrist.

"She's a patient." He informed House who rolled his eyes, then the neurologist picked her up "I'll bring her back."

"You better!" House growled as he paced back to his office, violently shaking his head and sinking his teeth in his lip as he felt the pain climbing up again.

He went to the conference room, he needed a bigger room to pace as he thought and tried to kick away the pain somehow, glancing at the whiteboard and sighing when he realized it was useless as much as his thinking ball. How could have Foreman got the wrong girl? That girl above all? Her eyes weren't the right color, she was too tall and a little fatter than Rachel and she wasn't even wearing a real princess costume, it was more a fairy one...why could nobody help him?

Pacing the room he kept thinking wondering what else he could do, he checked the watch and growled disappointed at time running way too fast according to him. Then his cell phone rang, he fumbled to get it out of his pocket and prayed silently as he read Taub was calling him, then he swung the phone open.

"Better be good news."

"_I found her."_

"Then why are you whispering?" he asked straightaway, trying not to cling on the first statement.

"_She's with a man, I'm following them."_ Taub informed in a low spying voice.

"Where are you?" he urged to ask, his heart was beating fast and his hands sweating _Calm down, he got them, calm down_

"_Ground floor, I've followed them from the cafeteria."_ Taub said in a whisper "_I bought her an ice cream...damn it!"_

"What? What's going on, what's wrong?" he panicked.

"_They're heading out, he's taking her out of the hospital!"_

"Stop him!"

"_How?"_

"You're a doctor for God's sake!" House growled exasperated, then headed to the door "Find a way to stop them, I'm coming."

"_House, how can ..."_

"Do something!" he instructed while walking down the hallway "Hold on, I'm coming... fucking slow elevator!" he roared slamming his fit on the button's display, then a thought came across his mind "How is she? Is she ok?"

"_She seems fine, I don't know..."_

"What do you mean I don't know?"

"_I think she is... wait, they're heading out. Hei!"_ House heard scratching noise on the phone and pulled it away from his ear, sweating like in a sauna as the elevator made its slow way to the ground floor "_Hei Mr., wait!"_

There was a series of disturbed sounds and voices coming from the phone, House thought he got crumbs of words but couldn't figure them out but one of them seemed a female childishly cry and it scared the hell out of him. Frustrated beyond reason and forced inside the cabin he simply jumped out of it once it stopped, but it didn't go far anyway because once at the ground floor the scene right before his eyes was too appalling to cause him a real reaction. Taub was lying on the floor covering his face with one hand, a big man dressed like a crazy woodman and a chest large as a sequoia hovering on him holding a little girl in his left hand while the right one was still closed in a fits the size of a pumpkin he had evidently offered to Taub's face. Wisely, House kept himself at a causal and safe distance and watched silent as a couple of nurses helped Taub to stand up and clear the situation, which ended up revealing the girl as nothing but the woodman's daughter, with sincere and frightened apologies from Taub as he was offered a pack of ice for his left eye already turning purple. As his fellows oddly walked to the closest restroom to check himself in a mirror House paid attention to step out of his sight, he was still trying to figure out how the fact the apparently kidnapped girl wasn't Rachel made him feel then the hair in the back of his neck raised to attention as he registered a pestering presence right behind him.

"Did you..." Nurse Jeffrey fizzling voice muttered as he froze on his feet "...did you lose dr Cuddy's daughter?"

"Mind your own business." House stated, immediately going back to the elevators, but the nurse followed him.

"Oh you did, please tell me you did!"

"I did not!" he clarified, pissed off that sexually confused idiot could dislike him so much to wish he had lost a two years old kid.

"Then where is she?" he questioned folding his arms "You came in with her..."

"We're playing hide and seek." He offered, then a sudden light came across his mind and he wished himself luck as he added with a smirk "At least, she thinks we're playing hide and seek but I know exactly where she is. I saw a chance to shrug her off of me for a while and seize it."

"I see..." Jeffrey mumbled, he was still suspicious but House could tell by his slow head shaking that he was scanning his words, eventually deciding given the man he was talking too it wasn't that hard to believe after all.

Thanking his bad reputation and the natural distrust the man seemed to have for him House gave him a teasing smirk, sighing relived when he sensed him go away and leave him alone. But once back inside the elevator on his own the smile vanished, his watch remembering him merciless in 30 minutes more or less he would have been a dead single man. Closing his eyes he rested his forehead on the wall, rubbing his right leg and tasting in his mouth the salted flavor of tears he didn't know where they came from exactly. Was he just worried about his relationship with Cuddy or there was more? He had almost lost his mind thinking Rachel might had been kidnapped, or hurt...how could he handle that? There was no way he could survive that, even if he'd found Rachel safe and without let Cuddy know how could he go on with that kind thing anyway?

Appealing to his strength he managed to get a grip on himself right before the elevator dropped him on the fourth floor, his eyes widening in shock and rage as he spotted Chase leaning on the wall near the restroom deep emmerced in a friendly chat with a cute blonde nurse. House had to blink a couple of times, he still had some guts to his stomach at the Australian's "costume" but swallowed it down, way more pissed in that moment by the fact he seemed to have forgotten his task.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked not to gently, causing Chase's back to almost lose the grip on the wall as he straightened up.

"I..." Chase mumbled, visibly unease as the nurse's eyes travelled confused from him to House as if she was mentally playing "find the differences" between them "...ehm, I'm done."

"Done? What do you mean done?" House insisted stepping closer to him, unaware of the way the nurse was still comparing the original version to the copy "Where's...her?" he muttered, trying not to give himself away with the nurse and glaring at Chase to play along.

"I don't know." He muttered, honestly scared by the look on House's face as his boss eyes slowly widened never leaving him "I...didn't...find her..."

If glares could kill he would have been a dead man, no doubt about it, the way House was looking at him Chase felt those blue eyes sucking life out of him and he had some trouble breathing. His relief when House pulled back from him a little didn't last long, unable to move and fearing to the young doctor helplessly watched his boss search in the pocket of the lab coat he was wearing on his costume and fish out of it a handful of pieces of papers, posts it and scribbled napkins which he handled to the nurse who was petrified by the whole scene.

"Here." House said her delivering her the phone numbers Chase had stashed the whole day through "You can call them all and arrange a schedule." He muttered as she shockingly looked at the number of women Chase apparently intended to get in touch with.

House didn't care for the drama he had most certainly caused, he didn't even care for the obvious revenge he had taken on Chase for mocking him with his costume and started to walk away back to his office. But he stopped on his way there when he captured Chase's lame and desperate attempt to save the situation and get the phones back, sure trying to apply some damage control and prevent the woman from start a victim's club, then House walked back toward him and kicked his fellow on his right thigh with his good leg with all the force he could, looking at him as he knelt down holding his right thigh with both hands.

"Here." He hissed down at him "Now you're outfit is perfect."

He had no idea what was going on with him, he knew he had overreacted no matter how hard he tried to justify himself but he couldn't control himself anymore. How could Chase be so careless? How could he not care to find Rachel, he even spent time with her...was the Australian guy really that sneaky, pretending to enjoy doing something he wasn't? God at least he was sincere in his disliking, still that didn't justify his lack of interest...why was he the only caring for Rachel all of sudden?

_Wilson_, he thought glancing at his friend's office _Wilson does, Wilson always cares he said to himself as he limped in that direction with renewed hope I'm sure he's dealing with his, he's calling everybody he knows to get some extra discrete help in the search, he's bursting his ass out for sure, he simply can't help it..._

"What the fuck are you doing here?" House asked on the verge of tears as he swung the door open, finding the oncologist seated behind his desk apparently busy with paperwork.

"Dhu...working." he said innocently "Why?"

"Why? There's a missing child...Cuddy's missing child and you're working?"

"House, I checked the place I was supposed to, keep walking around the hospital won't help..."

"And stay on your ass doing nothing will?" he questioned out of rage slamming the door closed behind him "Cuddy will be here soon, I lost her kid...my bad, I thought I might use some help from my best friend."

"I am helping you out House..."

"You're doing nothing!"

"Because it's not something I should do." He explained calmly, then looked at him with a fond but serious face "Call Cuddy."

"I can't..."

"You have to." The oncologist insisted, he stood up slowly and watched his friend collapsing on the couch and burying his face in his hands "If...I'm sure Rachel is still around the hospital, call Cuddy and tell her you lost track of her and you're looking for her."

"She'll go crazy..."

"Like any mother would do...and Rachel ran away as any kid her age does."

"She ran away from me ." House pointed out, exhausted "I was supposed to watch her..."

"She got scared, she ran away from a fake Dracula, not from you House." Wilson said, knowing there was no point to insist on that point any longer "Kids do it all the time House, don't be so hard on yourself about this...think about how fix it."

"Isn't that what I'm doing?"

"No House, it's not." Wilson told him straightaway with a blunt and hurting honesty in any other moment House would have probably appreciated "You delegated the searching hoping to delegate your worrying too..."

"One thing." House sighed out painfully sinking his head in his shoulders and bending down on his knees "She asked me one thing, to walk the kid around for a couple of hours, she didn't even ask me to enjoy it...and I blew it."

"We'll find her House." Wilson tried to comfort him, it was nice see his friend so caught up in his relationship and responsibilities but it was also hard to bear, knowing by the kind of man he was he would have hardly survived that kind of failure.

"And then?" House shrugged bitterly enlarging his arms "Even if we do, even if Cuddy won't find out...it won't change the fact I let her down."

Wilson didn't really know what to tell him, he could have tried to reassure him but he didn't feel like too...something in the resigned voice coming from House's defeated being told him there was really nothing he could say, nothing he could do to help him out that time.


	9. Chapter 9

**_A/N - This is a collaboration with Haddicted, Muna16, and myself (i'mnotcrazy)_**

**_We don't own House, but we wish we did..._**

**_

* * *

_**

Chapter Nine _(Written by Muna16)-_

Rachel didn't know why House had hit the scary man with his cane, but she did see it as her opportunity to escape from the dark and creepy room. The moment she got out, she found herself swept away by kids in costumes and overly enthusiastic hospital staff. She walked around, unsure of her surroundings. She remembered she had seen the good lollipops, the ones House had let her try, the ones he kept in his pocket, in one of the rooms they had visited. He didn't let her take any, saying something about her Mommy, but she was determined to find that room now. All she remembered was the big heavy door.

She made a right turn and headed down a short hall, making another left turn at a nurse's station. Everyone looked busy - the nurses seemed to be working, writing in their blue folders, while the spooky music came out of the speakers in the hall.

"3141 needs his meds," one of the nurses said to another as she practically ran into Rachel. "Hey, are you lost?" the nurse said to Rachel tenderly. Rachel looked up, thinking she was busted and would be taken back to House in the scary room, and she nodded no, joining a small group of kids heading towards yet another hall. She wondered where her mother was and how she knew how to go from place to place in this crazy, big hospital.

After walking for a while with the kids, she saw a big door. It was under a sign. She looked at the red letters. E X I T. It was the same shiny red as the lollipop House had given her the day before. That must be the place with the candy, she thought. She pushed the door open with a lot of effort and stepped into the stairwell, letting the door close behind her with a loud thud.

Oh no, she thought, another adventure. She was tired, but she held onto the rail and started to climb up the steps. She remembered visiting a hotel with Mommy just a few months before and Mommy had said the best rooms were always at the top. She knew if she was going to find that lollipop she had to go up and not down. Mommy said so.

So she climbed up and up until she finally found another heavy door. She pushed it open and walked into the hall. The menacing music was still playing in the halls, but these halls did not look crowded. There weren't many decorations either. She walked until she found a nurse's station. There was nobody there, but there were some pumpkins pasted onto the wall behind the big desk. No lollipops. She kept walking and saw a big glass door. It was different from every other door she had seen. She could see right though the door and into the room. She came close to the glass to look inside, but she didn't see any candy. She had started to walk away when she saw something interesting in the corner of the room. She pushed open the glass door and went over to it. "Music," she said to herself out loud, strumming the guitar that was standing up against the wall. She had seen House make music with a guitar like this one, and she had liked it. She pulled some strings and made more random sounds as she looked around the room.

"Oh," she said, suddenly dropping the guitar back to where it was and heading over to the desk in the back of the room. "Mushy," she said, squeezing down on the model of the brain that sat on the desk. It reminded her of the squishy ball she had played with at the Children's Museum that time. She squinted at it, expecting it to burst the more she squished it, but she gave up after she saw her movements had no effect.

"Ball!" she squealed excitedly, taking a few quick steps to the corner of the desk. She grabbed the read and grey ball and bounced it around the room. "Ball," she said again, rolling it to one side of the office and then to the other. She yawned, and kept playing with the ball. She threw it up in the air and she watched it bounce around as it hit the floor. She grabbed it and threw it up again, screeching, "Fly ball, fly!" This time the ball landed on the comfy yellow easy chair by the glass door. Rachel thought it was probably time to look for her Mommy, but as she climbed onto the chair to retrieve the ball, she found it very comfortable. She rolled the ball back and forth with her right hand, and she rubbed her eyes with he back of her left hand. In a few moments, she was sleeping peacefully, looking very much like a tired pink princess.

[H] [H] [H]

House looked at his watch again, hoping somehow that time had stopped, that fortune had finally decided to conspire in his favor instead of against him, but naturally, nothing of the sort had happened. He limped quickly down the hall, wondering what would be worse, the emotional pain of Cuddy's rejection, the physical pain of what he was sure would be an epic assault on her part, or the pain in his damn, mangled leg from all of the running around he had been doing for the past hour.

_Easy come easy go, Greg_, he said to himself as he turned the hall to head back towards his office, back towards his designated meeting place with Cuddy. He knew that Rachel was somewhere in the hospital - he was sure she would be found within minutes of Cuddy's call to security - but still - she could be scared. She could have fallen or gotten hurt. Hell, some sshole could have even tried to hurt her. Despite what Wilson had thought when they had talked earlier, he thought as he limped past Wilson's office, despite what he thought, he had paid Pancho the maintenance man $50 to watch the main hospital entrance. He had also paid a pharmacy tech who owed him a favor another $50 to watch the emergency room entrance. As he reached his office and pulled open the door he almost fell backwards, thinking suddenly about the roof. He hadn't considered the roof. Before the panic was able to take hold, however, he noticed the tiny pink form lying on his easy chair.

He sat on the ottoman and took a deep breath, rubbing his leg as he stared at her - watching her little chest rise and fall with every breath. He couldn't believe it. Fortune had smiled on him at last. Before he could properly celebrate, Cuddy appeared before him and caught him looking at Rachel with wonder. Of course, he was just in awe that something had gone right for him - that this afternoon which had surely been headed for disaster had suddenly corrected itself, all without his intervention. But to Cuddy it looked like House was admiring her daughter, and she felt an unfamiliar warmth shoot through her veins. "Hey," she said startling him.

House jumped at the sound of her voice, and he turned his deep blue eyes towards her. "Hey," he responded quietly, still not trusting the fact that everything had worked out, and that what he thought he had lost was now standing in front of him smiling, looking very pleased with him.

"She was that tired?" Cuddy was standing in front of him now and he had to crane is neck to see her steely grey eyes as they shone down on him.

"Yep," he said nonchalantly, figuring he should add more detail, but still not clear himself as to what he should say.

Cuddy realized he hadn't stopped rubbing his leg since she walked in. She caressed his face with her right hand. "Thanks House," she said sincerely, "it means a lot to me that she was still able to have fun, even if I had to work. You have no idea how much it-"

He turned his face to her hand and kissed it. "Oh, don't worry," he said with a sly smirk, "I am sure you will find a way to thank me tonight."

She smiled easily and pulled his chin up and leaned in for a quick kiss. "I am pretty sure you can bet on that," she said flirtatiously. She stepped back and took another look at Rachel. "I still have to make some rounds and pick a winner, do you think you can stay with her a bit longer?"

"I guess," he said slowly, not wanting her to get too comfortable with his new babysitting ways. He grabbed a red lollipop from his pocket as he stood up and limped towards his desk. "As long as Cardiology gets last place, or better yet, disqualified."

Cuddy looked at him quizzically, but when he said nothing more, she took off to complete her judging.

Later that night, Cuddy came to bed late. Rachel had stayed up late after her late nap at PPTH, and the sensory overload from the Trick-or-Treating had her hyperactive in a way Cuddy had never seen before. House was lying in bed, pretending to sleep, when she lifted the covers and slid next to him. She was tired. She was exhausted, to tell the truth. Rachel had really put her through the ringer. But the sight of House lying shirtless in her bed, the realization that things were going just about as well as they could for them, it all helped her release some of the weariness.

She spooned him from behind and kissed his bare shoulder. "Hmmmm," he said dreamily.

"What a day," she said softly, kissing his back. The electric tingle of her tongue on his back made him shiver. He was amazed that after spending the past several weeks screwing like rabbits a single touch could still get him going. He grabbed her hand and pulled it over him so he was enveloped in her hug, his back still to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, "just tired. Not used to chasing two-year-olds around." He meant it as a simple deflection, but hearing himself say it out loud made him feel guilty. As he had listened on the monitor to Cuddy as she played with her daughter and sang her to sleep, he could feel her total love and devotion for her in her voice. He had lost Rachel, even if only for an hour; Cuddy had trusted him and he had lost her. He had every intention of claiming his reward from her in bed when he had first crawled in himself earlier that night. But hearing Cuddy through the monitor he had been overwhelmed by a sense of great sadness and loss. He had nearly lost Rachel. He had found her by coincidence too - not even by his own reasoning skills, not even by his own effort. How could he be the man for Cuddy if he couldn't even take care of the kid for a couple of hours? Suddenly he realized that sex with Cuddy was the last thing he needed.

Her hand was caressing his chest when he turned suddenly to face her. She was surprised by the darkness that covered his face. "I almost lost her."

Cuddy didn't say anything. She looked at him tenderly and waited for him to continue.

"We wandered into Cardiology, but it was scary, and we were about to leave but then the Dracula sshole jumped out of his coffin and she screamed and Rachel jumped into my right leg and I doubled over, and when I was able to focus again she was gone. I blew it. You asked me to do one thing and I blew it."

"She was sleeping very comfortably in your office, House," Cuddy said carefully.

He took a deep breath. "I know. I don't know how she made her way there. I had the team and Wilson looking for her - I had the exits covered. But still, she was missing for over an hour. I lost her."

"Why didn't you call security? They would have ordered a lockdown and found her in two minutes flat."

He shook his head. "I didn't want you to know I had lost her. I didn't want you to know I had failed."

"House," she said softly, caressing his face.

"No," he said. "Stop making excuses. I knew this would happen. I told you. I warned you I would hurt you. Damnit Cuddy, I don't want to, I just can't help it."

He turned away from her and rolled onto his back. He stared at the ceiling. She propped herself up and her elbow and said, "My turn."

He faced her and wondered what that meant.

"When I left her asleep in your office I started to hit all of the stations to thank the staff and complete the judging, and I ran into Jeffrey. He told me he was sure that something strange was going on between you and Rachel. Something about a backwards hide-n-seek game."

"You knew?" he asked, dread growing in the pit of his stomach.

Cuddy rolled onto her own back and stared at the ceiling. "After talking to Jeffrey I stopped by security and had a look at some of the footage."

"Shit," House muttered, under his breath. Images of the last few weeks washed over him. "I guess it's just as well," he said bitterly. A part of him was relieved he would no longer have to worry about losing her once he had lost her.

"House," she said leaning up again, and pulling his face gently towards her, meeting his eyes and locking into them with hers. "What I saw on that footage was the most incredible man, in pain, limping through the halls of this hospital, in a costume he didn't want to wear, looking desperately for his girlfriend's daughter."

"That's not enough. Don't you dare convince yourself that's enough."

Cuddy didn't stop talking. She had been processing the events since she had seen the security footage, and she had a lot to say. "Last month Rachel and I were at the park. She was climbing up the jungle gym and heading towards her favorite slide. My Blackberry buzzed, and I pulled out a hospital e-mail and quickly responded to it. I had my eyes off of her for no more than two minutes. She was right in front of me. But when I looked up, she was gone."

House was listening intently.

"She was gone, House. I was freaking out, screaming her name, looking all over, and she was nowhere to be found. A couple of minutes later, as I was heading back towards the swings, hoping she had wandered in that direction, another Mom brought her over to me - she had made her way over to an Ice Cream truck."

House went from feeling sorry for himself to feeling sorry for her. "I love her, House, she is my daughter, and _I_ almost lost her. Kids walk away sometimes. It isn't some kind of sign that we can't be together - it's just something that happened, nothing more. Besides, I thought you didn't believe in signs."

"I don't," he said, starting to release some of his self-hate, starting to allow her love and affection to dispel his gloomy mood. "But, you confuse me, you make me believe in all kinds of things I normally don't believe in."

Her expression went from sympathy to measured anger. "I get why you didn't want me to know, but it was stupid that you didn't call security," she said. "Something could have happened to her."

"I know - I know it was stupid." House thought about how he had been more scared that Cuddy would find out than he had been scared for Rachel and what she might have been going through. "I messed up - it's what I've always said, parents are morons."

He wasn't sure what he had said, or why her demeanor softened as she started looking at him funny. But Cuddy had heard it - all of it - the regret and the admission. She hoped it was confirmation that Rachel was growing on him. That Rachel was more than his competition or just her kid.

Cuddy kissed him. He opened his mouth and surrendered to her; his whole body surrendered to her, and he allowed her to love him. After a passionate kiss he pulled away from her and cupped her face in his hands. "You are the most incredible woman I have ever known," he said, overwhelmed by her generosity and forgiveness.

"I know," she responded lightly, turning quickly to straddle him. She pulled off her pajama top and lowered herself onto him so that he could feel the heat of her breasts on his bare chest. She brought her face close to his, so that they could taste each other's breath. She hovered there and said seriously without breaking contact with his eyes, "I know this is hard for you, I know it goes against your world view to believe in this relationship, but I can't believe in it for both of us forever."

He lifted his head up off of the pillow and kissed her softly, their lips barely touching. "I know."

"We might break up, House, this could end horribly, but if it does, it won't be because of something small. We are stronger than that. You have to believe that."

"I'm trying," he said, thoroughly enjoying the sensation of the weight of her body on his, but knowing that while this one seemed to be behind them, the path ahead of them was littered with similar issues. He would have to do better.

"Try harder," she said in her bossy, authoritative tone. He flipped her onto her back and rolled on top of her.

"Your wish is my command." They shared a fiery kiss as he pressed his body onto hers. House moved his mouth from hers all the way down her chin and to her neck, adding, as he nuzzled her, "Maybe we should ask Wilson if he still has Hector's leash."

THE END.

* * *

I just want to take a brief moment and thank first, Muna and Haddicted, who are both amazing, and I was very honored by them joining me on this story! Thank you both so very much, guys! Words can't describe how awesome both of you are, and what dear friends you are to me!

Second, I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this. You're the reason we write, so please, let us know how you felt about the story. Comments are better than cash, you know ;-)

That being said, I really appreciate the time you guys took to read this little story. I only hope it brightened your day :-)

Thank you very much!


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